The Conclusion to 4/28/2006 through 5/2/2006
I am not really certain why I felt compelled to write about
Bruce’s death. Maybe it was because it
has been 10 years. Maybe it was because
my kids are at such different places and I wanted them to have a history to
show their kids. Possibly because I am
not good at being vulnerable and writing was my way of being a little
vulnerable. Truthfully, I can’t say.
There have been many messages sent to me with offers of
prayers and well wishes. All are appreciated. I need to fast forward to now. Many of you may like to hear that we have put
Bruce’s death into perspective.
When someone dies it seems that the negatives are minimized
and the good times are magnified. That
is just the way it is. We all think of
Bruce. We laugh at some of his escapades.
I see Bruce in my sons.
I see his sister in my daughter.
My second son is a clone of him.
He has mastered his walk, speech and mannerisms. It will sometimes catch
me off guard. My oldest son has a lot of
Bruce in him. He is somewhat of a
dreamer, as was Bruce. I am so happy
that Bruce got to the kids grow up.
The things that Bruce’s early death made him miss? First and foremost, grandchildren. I do believe that he would have excelled in
being a “pap-pap”, as Lily calls him. I
am sure that he would have had the grandchildren fishing and skiing. There is no doubt that he would have embraced
Jack’s name. Jack is to date the only
grandson. Bruce is his middle name. I’m also certain that he would have loved the
sweetness of Lily and Maisie, and the spunkiness of Caroline.
When Meg was married, Chris gave a toast. One part of it was recognizing that his dad
would have loved Jonathan. He surely
would have. The only sadness of that day
was seeing Meg walked down the aisle (which was called the great lawn) with her
brothers and not her dad. He would love
Angela, although she might have to learned how to take Bruce. Chris’ sidekick, Katie would have won Bruce’s
heart too. All in all, he would have
been pleased with the family he created the kids and the grandchildren.
Me? I got very
fortunate. I have a good guy, Tim. He is my best buddy. We enjoy together our kids and
grandkids. He is their Timpa. Lily will say that his job is to keep her
safe and make sure that she is happy. I
tell Lily that we are her parent’s B team.
We are both right.
Tim is the polar opposite of Bruce. He is patient. Bruce was not. He is not a selfish man, Bruce was. He is not stubborn, Bruce was. I am happy, very happy that we are walking
through life together. My life is much
easier now.
Bruce’s relatives have embraced Tim. They let him know every time we see them that
he is part of their family. It is so
good to know that they support Tim and me.
My family? I will just say that
Bruce’s family has gone out of their way to make him comfortable.
The years are marching by and memories of Bruce G. Parke
will live on. Sometimes I realize the
magnitude of my life with Bruce and the reality of those five days in 2006 that
changed things so much.
Bruce's mom? She is still alive, but the pain of her losing Bruce has never lessened.
I am hopeful that this blog reaches people and helps them realize that we can all get through so much more than we think. If one person can find strength in these words. I consider it a success. After you go through such a tragedy, you will find the strength to breathe again.
The End....Theda K. Parke
I hope that if nothing else, this story can be helpful to at
least one person who finds themselves in a similar situation. After you go through the movements, there is
a time that you will breathe.
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